The Buckeyes run as one of the top Defenses in the country continued last year. They continue to be the most dominant unit in the Big Ten and one of the top 5 or 10 in the nation year in and year out. One of the primary reasons has been the tremendous play of the front four, who have been able to pressure opposing QB’s without necessarily needing the assistance of the linebacking group. In 2010, the strength of the Bucks unit up front was at DE with All American Cameron Heyward doubling as both a DE and DT depending on the situation and spending the bulk of the year as a genuinely unblockable force whose position on the field caused issues for opposing OL’s each week. Heyward was a monster and no game proved that more than the BCS Bowl vs. Arkansas, when Heyward wreaked havoc all over the field, even playing through a relatively severe injury to his elbow. His decision to return for his Senior year paid dividends to the team and hopefully to the player unless his elbow injury causes him to drop a bit in the Draft, but I’m not sure why it would considering it will not affect his play. Nathan Williams provided a pure rush end on the other side of the field that was an ideal complement to Heyward, because you couldn’t try and double both of them, meaning somebody was left on an island. The Bucks had Solomon Thomas and Melvin Fellows as backups last year.

Inside, the Bucks had quite a bit going on. John Simon and Dexter Larimore are two more or less somewhat undersized DT’s, but both are very powerful, play with excellent leverage, and actually play like guys 20-30 lbs heavier inside without giving up any athleticism in exchange. Both were pretty highly touted prospects and both have lived up to their billing. Backing them up have been Adam Bellamy, Jonathan Hankins, and Garrett Goebel. I have to admit that Goebel has been a little disappointing so far. A top prospect, I actually believed that he would bring another showstopper to the Defense inside, but that doesn’t appear to be the case at this point. He’s been more of a rotational guy. Another big body to rotate into the mix to keep guys fresh. Bellamy and Hankins appear to be the future. Both are youngsters that were not as highly touted, but both have played tremendous football when they’ve gotten their shot. Hankins looks like he could be the kind freakish plug inside that most teams would love to have. He’s a monster at 335 lbs whose biggest issue long term could be a battle with his weight and trying to stay under 350. The kid is only 19 years old, but he plays with the athleticism of player who is much lighter and has proven very nimble on his feet for a big man. He provides the Bucks with something they haven’t had in a very long time inside, and that’s an absolute monster. Evan Blankenship made the move to the DL to try and get some PT, but I’m not sure that he’ll ever be much more than a rotational guy to chews up some minutes in blowouts, but we’ll see.

Departure/Recruiting Impact 2011:

The departures on the DL are few, but still very significant for OSU this year. Heyward was the cornerstone of the Defense and he’s moving on, likely a late 1st or early 2nd Round pick in the NFL due to his late injury. The Bucks will also be saying goodbye to multi year starter Dexter Larimore at DT. The good news for the Bucks is that the DL is based on rotational depth and the Bucks often slide 7-8 guys around that front during the course of a game. Their top 5-6 DL return next year, despite the two key losses. Adding to that mix are what looks like the best DL recruiting class in the nation. At DE, the Bucks haul includes two of the top 15 DE’s in the country with five star Steve Miller and four star Ken Hayes. Both have excellent size and quickness, and many expect that Miller could be an early contributor on Day 1, even with a boatload of talent returning. Inside at DT, the Bucks are equally well stocked with a pair of top 10 DT’s coming in by the names of Chase Farris and Michael Bennett. Bennett looks like the better of the two and was pretty dominant during the Army All American game before breaking his forearm. Bennett is a monster at 285 lbs, but he isn’t the only monster the Bucks brought in at the position. They also will see another top 30 DT in Joel Hale coming aboard. Hale is a bit of a project (that’s what they said about Hankins last year though), but he’s a huge Freshman DT at nearly 300 lbs. The huge wild card in the incoming class is the transfer of Keith Wells back to the Buckeyes. Wells left the Bucks last Summer after being ruled academically ineligible for the season, but after less than a year at Columbus State Junior College, Wells is ready to transfer back to the Bucks and is set to join the team this Spring. This is huge news because Wells was a former top 15 DE in the nation out of High School who is actually three years removed from High School and will be a Redshirt Junior with two years of eligibility left when he rejoins the team. This is a guy that could have a huge impact for the Bucks who in complete opposite form compared to the OL, seem to have an overflow of talent joining the Defense vs. the losses that are departing, big as the loss of Heyward is.

Looking ahead 2011:

The DL for the Buckeyes is going to be a strength again for this team. They return half their starters back, the vast majority of the rotational players who were all super talents, and reloaded another level of talent behind that group. The Bucks third string DL is full of guys that would be seeing the field in the bulk of the Big Ten this year. Their depth up front is better than just about any team in the nation. At DE, there is little doubt that Nathan Williams will have to emerge as a key leader on this unit. The other starting DE spot is the one that will be up for grabs and to be honest with you, I have no idea who is going to man the fort on that side with any level of confidence. The reality is that the Bucks are going to employ as many as four or five DE’s in a rotation to keep their guys fresh again. As for the starter, Solomon Thomas and Melvin Fellows would appear to be the next two in line, however Thomas is the final member of the Tat Five group, which means he will also be serving a four to five game suspension this season, which probably eliminates any possibility that he’ll be the starter. In fact, missing those games could ultimately prevent him from actually being in the rotation with so many standouts on the roster at the position who will be playing. That means that the job could belong to Melvin Fellows. Fellows was one of the top 5 DE’s in the nation out of High School and since joining the Bucks and recovering from knee surgery his Freshman season, Fellows is healthy again and bulked back up to about 270 lbs. He enters the year as a Redshirt Sophomore and I think the job will be his to lose on Day 1. But that job will not be handed to him. Right behind him will be Keith Wells, his arch nemesis for playing time when they both originally joined the team and now that Wells is rejoining the Bucks, many expect the former top 15 DE to be back in the mix right out of the gate. The other guy I expect to be in the mix for that starting job is top 5 DE prospect Steve Miller, the five star super recruit considered one of the three jewels of this class. When Solomon Thomas gets back after 4-5 weeks, this could be your rotation at the position, with five DE’s consisting of Williams, Fellows, Wells, Miller, and Thomas. Behind these guys are Durham, Moore, and Baldwin, and Kenny Hayes, the other super Freshman who is likely to get a redshirt. Bottom line is they are loaded at DE, easily three deep with superstars.

Inside, the Bucks will return Simon at one Tackle spot, and like DE, they will have an assortment of talented players to wade through to find Larimore’s replacement. Early favorite is Redshirt Sophomore Adam Bellamy who saw a ton of playing time this past season as a Redshirt Freshman. He’s an under the radar guy who has worked his way onto the field, and who has bulked up to just under 300 lbs. Battling Bellamy should be last year’s super Freshman surprise Jonathan Hankins, the massive 335 lbs road grader who will see the field in all sorts of situations regardless since there isn’t anyone who brings to the table what he has, which is massive girth and power combined with relatively good feet. The last guy in the rotation is Garrett Goebel, which is the reason there has been rumors about him moving to the OL. If the super recruit Bennett comes in and he’s as good as advertised, he could find his way into the rotation up front, which means that Goebel would be the odd man out. My gut feeling is that Bennett would have to be phenomenal to warrant that considering both Hankins and Bellamy are just Sophomores. Ideally, creating some separation between those two guys and the two phenom incoming Freshmen is your best bet, but the best guys play, period. Blankenship and the other two Freshman probably don’t see the field much this year, with both of the other two Freshmen highly likely to Redshirt.

Bottom line 2011:

The bottom line in 2011 is that Ohio State will have to replace half of their starters from last year’s squad, but only really replace a couple of the six or seven guys that actually were in the rotation up front. The Buckeye depth on the DL is extraordinary. The reality is that next year’s DL, as talented as it may be, will be as young as it is deep. Fellows could be the starting DE and he’s a Redshirt Sophomore. Simon is a Junior at DT and either Ballamy or Hankins, the likely starters next to him, are both Sophomores. Only Williams is a Senior among the top guys likely to see a ton of playing time. Solomon Thomas is also a Senior, but there’s no telling how much of the field he’ll see when he returns from his suspension, so it’s possible that only one Senior will be in the top 8 DL on the squad. That means that even though the unit is talented, it is probably a year away from being utterly dominant. I would expect that the 2012 DL for the Buckeyes, which will probably see eight or nine guys ranked among the top 10 at their position out of High School and all with at least a year or two of experience and some reps from this season, could be the best in the country. This year, I just want to see them gelling as a group before the Bucks get into Conference play, and see a lot of guys getting work so that the cream can rise to the top in the starting lineup. Expect to see a bunch of new faces on the line as the rotations should be interesting during this upcoming season.